AT&T MERLIN Plus User guide

AT&T
999-507-144
MERLIN
®
PIus
COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
System Manual

Welcome...
...to the magic of MERLIN. Your MERLIN® Plus Communications System is
ready when you are. Once it's installed, you can begin using it immediately. You
can use the MERLIN Plus system voice terminals the same way you use ordinary
telephones.
But sooner or later you'll want to take advantage of the system's advanced
technology and customize it to meet your business needs. This manual shows you
how to choose from the MERLIN Plus system's many options and features to
design a system that fits the way you do business. In no time you'll have at hand
the most efficient and economical telecommunications system available for your
business anywhere today...
...and it's amazingly easy to use!
The people in your business can start using their phones right away. Give each
person one of the user's cards at the back of this book for quick reference. Then
have them look through the training guide included in this package when they
have a few free minutes during the day.
If you'll have an attendant handling most of your incoming calls, give that person
Section 4, "Using the Attendant Console," to read.
Now...
...go ahead, make a call!

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corrections to the information contained in this document may be
incorporated into future reissues.

Contents
Section 1: Introduction
What's in This Manual 1-1
How to Use This Manual 1-3
The MERLIN Plus Communications System 1-5
Section 2: Planning the System
Introduction 2-1
System Configuration Form 2-3
Line Assignments Form 2-7
Call Restrictions and Allowed Lists Directory 2-13
System Speed Dial Directory 2-17
FORMS:
System Configuration Form 2-21
Line Assignments Form 2-23
Call Restrictions and Allowed Lists Directory 2-25
System Speed Dial Directory 2-27
Section 3: Administering the System
Introduction 3-1
Administration Preview 3-3
Basic Administration 3-11
Customized Line Assignments 3-13
Systemwide Options 3-17
Section 4: Using The Attendant Console
Overview 4-1
Handling Calls 4-5
Section 5: Reference
Overview 5-1
MERLIN Plus System Features 5-3
Accessory Equipment 5-85
Section 6: Quick Reference Guides
Quick Reference Guide to System Administration 6-1
Quick Reference Guide to Administration Codes 6-7
Quick Reference Guide to Voice Terminal Features 6-9
Quick Reference Guide to Programming Codes 6-12
Section 7: Troubleshooting the System
Troubleshooting Procedures 7-1
General Test 7-11
Section 8: Installation
MERLIN Plus System Installation 8-1
Index I-1

Section 1: Introduction

What's in This Manual
You'll find the information in this MERLIN® Plus Communications System
manual convenient y divided into eight sections, as described below. You'll
also find ten copies of the MERLIN Plus System User's Card in the back of this
binder. In addition to the manual, this package also includes a MERLIN Plus
System Training Manual.
SECTION 1.
INTRODUCTION This section tells you what's in the manual and how to use it. It also offers a brief introduction to the system's control unit and the voice terminals
(telephones).
SECTION 2.
PLANNING THE
SYSTEM
Use the information in this section to make some key decisions about how you
want the system operate. This section includes planning forms to record
your decisions. If someone else will be system administrator, have that person
fill out the planning forms.
SECTION 3.
ADMINISTERING THE
SYSTEM
This section tells you how to use the information on the planning forms to
customize the system to your business needs. If someone else will be system
administrator, have that person administer the system following the steps in
this section.
SECTION 4.
USING THE ATTENDANT
CONSOLE
If our system will have an attendant to manage incoming call traffic, that
person can find some helpful information in this section on using the
aministrator/attendant telephone.
SECTION 5.
REFERENCE This section contains a detailed discussion of every component, option, and feature in the MERLIN Plus system. The entries are organized alphabetically
to help you find the information you need quickly. As you become familiar
with the system, you'll probably go to this section first when you want to
change a system setting or a voice terminal feature, or when you simply want
to find out more about some aspect of the system.
SECTION 6.
QUICK REFERENCE
GUIDES
The guides in this section offer quick access to administration and
programming procedures. Use them when you want to find a particular
procedure fast.
SECTION 7.
TROUBLESHOOTING
THE SYSTEM
The tables in this section can help you isolate and solve most of the technical
problems that may cause your system to malfunction.
SECTION 8.
INSTALLATION This is a technical reference section. It should answer any questions an
installer or technician may have about MERLIN Plus system wiring and
installation requirements.
What's In This Manual 1-1

USER'S CARD This card is a handy reference for anyone who uses a MERLIN Plus system
voice terminal (telephone) on the job. Give one to everyone in your business
who uses a voice terminal.
MERLIN PLUS SYSTEM This guide offers self-paced instructions on using the MERLIN Plus system
TRAINING MANUAL features. Make the guide available to everyone in your business who uses a
voice terminal, and encourage them to use it.
1-2 Section 1: Introduction

How to Use This Manual
ADMINISTERING A NEW
SYSTEM?
MAKING CHANGES TO
A RUNNING SYSTEM?
MANAGING INCOMING
CALL TRAFFIC AS
SYSTEM ATTENDANT?
USING A VOICE
TERMINAL FOR THE
FIRST TIME?
HAVING TROUBLE WITH
THE SYSTEM?
How you should use this manual at any particular time depends on what you
want to do, as the following information suggests.
Use the information in Section 2, "Planning the System," to decide which
options and features you want for your system. Then follow the instructions
in Section 3, "Administering the System, " and in Section 5, "Reference," to
set up the system with the options and features you've selected.
Change the planning forms to reflect the changes you want to make. Then
see the relevant entries in Section 5, "Reference," and Section 6, "Quick
Reference Guides," to make the changes.
See Section 4, "Using the Attendant Console," for information on how to use
the attendant's telephone to handle incoming calls.
See the relevant entries in Section 5, "Reference," and the Quick Reference
Guide to Voice Terminal Features in Section 6-and keep the MERLIN Plus
System User's Card handy. Then, when you have time, follow the self-paced
instructions in the MERLIN Plus System Training Manual.
Find the symptom in Section 6, "Troubleshooting." Then follow the
suggestions for solving the problem.
How to Use This Manual 1-3

The MERLIN Plus Communications System
THE CONTROL UNIT
THE VOICE TERMINALS
5-Button
The basic MERLIN Plus system supports up to four outside telephone lines
and eight voice terminals (MERLIN system telephones). To accommodate
your growing communications needs, the system expands easily and
economically to support up to eight outside lines and 20 voice terminals. And
if your business eventually outgrows even the fully expanded MERLIN Plus
system, you can protect your investment in voice terminals, accessory
equipment, and training time by moving up to a larger MERLIN system.
The paragraphs that follow offer a brief introduction to the system's control
unit and voice terminals. The optional equipment you can add to your system
is described under the heading "Accessory Equipment" in Section 5,
"Reference."
The control unit is the system's brain. It manages all incoming, outgoing, and
intercom call traffic. It makes all of the system's decisions and controls all of
the system's responses. For an illustration of the control until with its major
components labeled, see "Administration Preview" in Section 3,
"Administering the System."
A voice terminal is a MERLIN system telephone that provides basic telephone
functions and allows you to take advantage of the special MERLIN system
features. Your MERLIN Plus system works best with the following voice
terminals:
●
●
●
●
●
5-Button Voice Terminal
10-Button Voice Terminal
10-Button Hands-Free Answer on Intercom (HFAI) Voice Terminal
34-Button Deluxe Voice Terminal
34-Button Built-In Speakerphone (BIS) Voice Terminal.
All of these voice terminals have buttons for fixed features such as
Conference, Drop, Transfer, and Hold. They differ from one another in the
number of buttons above and to the right of the dial pad that can be used for
outside lines and programmable features. Some also have additional built-in
speakerphones. The illustrations that follow should help acquaint you with
these voice terminals.
The 5-button voice terminal has an Intercom button and four additional
buttons above the dial pad that you can use for outside lines and/or
programmable features.
The MERLIN Plus Communications System 1-5

10-Button
10-Button HFAI
34-Button Deluxe
34-Button BIS
The 10-button voice terminal has an Intercom button and nine additional
buttons above the dial pad that you can use for outside lines and
programmable features.
The 10-button HFAI voice terminal has a built-in speaker that allows you to
answer and talk on intercom calls without liking the handset. It also has an
Intercom button and nine additional buttons above the dial pad for outside
lines and programmable features.
The 34-button deluxe voice terminal has two rows of five buttons located
above the dial pad and two rows of 12 buttons to the right of the dial pad.
You can use the buttons above the dial pad for lines and programmable
features. You can use the 24 buttons to the right of the dial pad for
programmable features. The system attendant usually has this model voice
terminal.
The 34-button BIS voice terminal has a built-in speakerphone that allows you
to answer and talk on both outside and intercom calls without using the
handset. Above the dial pad are an Intercom button and nine additional
buttons for outside lines and programmable features. The 24 buttons to the
right of the dial pad can be used for programmable features.
Programming a feature onto a voice terminal is easy. Just follow the simple
programming instructions in the entry for the feature in Section 5,
"Reference," on the User's Card, or in the Training Guide.
1-6 Section 1: Introduction

Section 2: Planning the System

Introduction
You can begin making and receiving calls as soon as your MERLIN® Plus
Communications System is installed. But to take full advantage of the
system's power, you should customize it to fit your business needs.
Customizing the system is called administering the system throughout this
manual.
Administering the system involves entering information into the system's
memory about how you want the system to operate. You enter this
information by pressing buttons and dialing numbers on the telephone referred
to in this manual as the administrator/attendant console.
This section of the manual helps you decide what information you want to
enter into the system's memory and shows you how to record that information
on forms. A checklist of the forms appears below. You can find copies at the
end of this section. Remove them now, make a photocopy of each, and put
the originals back in this binder. Keep the copies at hand so you can fill
them out as you plan your system.
❑
❑
❑
❑
System Configuration Form
Line Assignments Form
Call Restrictions and Allowed Lists Directory
System Speed Dial Directory
NOTE: In this section of the manual, the information coming before
the boxes helps you make important decisions about your system.
Then the instructions in the boxes tell you where to enter these
decisions on the forms.
Introduction 2-1

System Configuration Form
DIAL SIGNALS
LONG DISTANCE
DIALING
VOICE TERMINALS
Use the System Configuration Form to record information about the following:
● Dial Signals
● Long Distance Dialing
● Voice Terminals
● Outside Telephone Lines
The following information should help you make the appropriate entries for
your system on the System Configuration Form.
Touch-Tone telephone lines can carry both Touch-Tone and rotary (pulse) dial
signals. But rotary-only telephone lines cannot carry Touch-Tone dial signals.
If you don't know whether your outside telephone lines are Touch-Tone or
rotary-only, ask your local telephone company.
The MERLIN Plus system is set to generate Touch-Tones when you dial an
outside call. This means that if one or more of your outside telephone lines
can transmit only rotary (pulse) signals, you have to set the system for rotary
dialing during system administration. Otherwise you won't be able to dial out
over the rotary-only lines.
NOTE: If some of your outside lines are Touch-Tone and some rotary,
you may want to ask your local telephone company to replace the
rotary lines with Touch-Tone lines.
Under "Dial Signals" on the form . . .
Check the box next to "Touch-Tone" if all the outside telephone lines
connected to your system are Touch-Tone lines.
Check the box next to "Rotary (Pulse)" if one or more of the outside lines
connected to your system are rotary-only lines.
Under "Long Distance Dialing" . . .
Check the box next to "Toll-Prefix" if you have to dial a toll prefix
(1 or 0) before the area code when you dial the telephone number for a
long distance call.
Check the box next to "Area Code Only" if you do not have to dial a toll
prefix (1 or 0) before the area code when you dial the telephone number
for a long distance call.
Each MERLIN Plus system voice terminal (telephone) in your system will have
a two-digit intercom number. These intercom numbers allow easy dialing
between phones within the system.
The intercom numbers for a system with 10 or fewer voice terminals run from
10 to 19. For a system with more than 10 voice terminals, the intercom
numbers are 10 through 29.
System Configuration Form 2-3

Intercom 10
Intercom 19
Intercoms 11 through 29
PAGING GROUPS
By design, the intercom 10 position is the primary call-handling position in
the system, and it is also the system administration point. You must,
therefore, assign intercom number 10 to the voice terminal at the system
attendant's location. For easy system administration, the voice terminal
assigned intercom 10 should be a 34-button deluxe model, but a 10-button
model will also work.
Under "Voice Terminals" . . .
Write in the name of the system attendant and the attendant's location on
the line next to number 10.
Notice that "Call Report" appears in parentheses in the "Name" column next
to intercom 19 on the form. If your system has the Call Report option, the
system automatically reserves the intercom 19 position for the data collector
and printer required to print call reports. You can designate an intercom
number other than 19 for the Call Report equipment when you administer the
system, but you cannot assign both the Call Report equipment and a voice
terminal the same intercom number. (For more information on the Call
Report option and equipment, see "Administer the Call Report Option" under
"Systemwide Options" in Section 3, "Administering the System," and also
the "Call Report" entry in Section 5, "Reference.")
Under "Voice Terminals" . . .
Do not write in a name next to intercom number 19 if your system has the
Call Report option (unless you plan to assign an intercom number other
than 19 to the Call Report equipment when you administer the system.)
Cross out "(Call Report)" next to intercom 19 if your system does not have
the Call Report option, and treat intercom 19 just like any other intercom
number as you assign intercom numbers below.
To simplify system administration, you should assign consecutive intercom
numbers beginning with 11 to the remaining voice terminals in your system.
Under "Voice Terminals" . . .
Write in the names of the people to be assigned voice terminals and their
work locations next to the remaining intercom numbers.
The MERLIN Plus system lets you page the people in your business through
the speakers on their voice terminals. You don't need an external paging
system for this feature.
The system automatically assigns all voice terminals to a single paging group,
called the Page-All Group. You can't change the makeup of the Page-All
Group. (See the "Group Page" entry in Section 5, "Reference," for more
information on the Page-All feature.)
2-4 Section 2: Planning the System

The system also assigns intercoms 10 through 19 to Paging Group 1 and
intercoms 20 through 29 to Paging Group 2. You can keep these groups as
they are, or you can change the makeup of Paging Groups 1 and 2 during
system administration to fit the needs of your business.
You can assign as few or as many voice terminals as you want to Groups 1 and
2. You can also assign the same voice terminal to both groups.
Under "Paging Groups" . . .
Check the appropriate column(s) next to the intercom number, name, and
location of each person to indicate the Paging Group(s) you plan to assign
the person to.
OUTSIDE TELEPHONE
LINES The local telephone company gives you the telephone numbers for your
outside lines. The control unit jacks where the outside lines connect to the
system are labeled alphabetically: A through D for a system with four or fewer
outside lines, and A through H for a system with five to eight outside lines.
To simplify system administration, plan to assign your outside lines to an
unbroken sequence of jacks beginning with jack A. Begin with the lines for
your local published telephone numbers. Group special lines types such as
WATS lines together in the sequence, and place any personal lines at the end
of the sequence.
Under "Outside Telephone Lines" . . .
Write in the telephone number and the line type for each of your outside
lines next to the appropriate letter.
You should now have a completed System Configuration Form.
System Configuration Form 2-5

Line Assignments Form
OUTSIDE TELEPHONE The information in the lower area of the Line Assignments Form, under the
LINES heading "Outside Telephone Lines," is almost identical to the information
under the same heading on the System Configuration Form you've already
completed. The only difference is that the leftmost column is headed
"Control Unit Jacks" on the System Configuration Form and "Lines" on the
Line Assignments From. This slight difference is to remind you that your
outside lines get their identifiers (A, B, C, etc.) from the control unit jacks
they are plugged into.
Under "Outside Telephone Lines" on the Line Assignments Form . . .
Copy the information already entered in the corresponding area of your
System Configuration Form.
NAME AND INTERCOM
NUMBER You can also use the information already entered on your System
Configuration Form to complete this part of the Line Assignments Form.
In the "Name" column on the form . . .
Write the names of the people in your business next to their intercom
numbers.
LINE ASSIGNMENTS When your system is first installed, before you do any system administration,
all your outside telephone lines appear on the same buttons on every voice
terminal in the system. These are the voice terminals' original line
assignments. Figure 2-1 shows the original line assignments for both 10-button
and 34-button voice terminals. A voice terminal retains its original line
assignments until someone administers it differently.
Line Assignments Form 2-7

FIGURE 2-1 Original Line Assignments
MERLIN Plus system line administration offers you these options:
●Customize the line assignments on some or all of your voice terminals.
●Keep the original line assignments on some or all of your voice
terminals.
The following paragraphs offer guidelines for choosing a line assignment
option for each voice terminal and recording your choices on the form.
2-8 Section 2: Planning the System .

Customized Line As you decide whether to customize the line assignments to one or more voice
Assignments terminals, review your business calling patterns and each person's telephoning
responsibilities. You may find that customizing line assignments can help you
control costs and increase the efficiency of your communications system.
Let's say, for example, that you are the MERLIN Plus system administrator for
a branch office of a large company. Your system has six outside telephone
lines:
●
●
●
●
Lines A, B, and C are local, general purpose lines with your office's
published telephone numbers. They're listed first, second, and third
respectively in directories and advertisements.
Line D is a WATS line to the distant area where most of your
company's suppliers are located.
Line E is a foreign exchange (FX) line to the distant city where the
company's headquarters are located.
Line F is a general purpose line with an unpublished telephone number
that the branch manager wants as a personal line.
Figure 2-1 shows how these lines appear on all voice terminals before any line
administration.
Now let's consider the following facts about the calling requirements of three
people in the office: the buyer, the branch manager, and the clerk.
●
●
●
Most of the buyer's outgoing calls are to suppliers in the area served by
the WATS line and to the purchasing and accounting departments at
company headquarters. The buyer receives relatively few incoming
calls, but they are usually important.
The branch manager calls company headquarters often and wants a
personal line for other calls.
The clerk handles most of the incoming calls from customers and
prospective customers, and has no need to call suppliers or the
headquarters offices.
Line Assignments Form 2-9

Figure 2-2 shows how you might customize the line assignments to the buyer's,
the manager's, and the clerk's voice terminals to best meet their individual
needs and responsibilities.
FIGURE 2-2 Customized Line Assignments
Line A = Primary listed telephone number
Line B = Second listed telephone number
Line C = Third listed telephone number
Line D = WATS line
Line E = FX line
Line F = Manager's personal line
2-10 Section 2: Planning the System

Original Line
Assignments
AUTOMATIC LINE
SELECTION SEQUENCE
Review the responsibilities of the people in your business and the special
characteristics of your outside lines. Then decide which, if any, should have
customized line assignments. (Your System Configuration Form shows the
telephone number and line type for each of your outside telephone lines.)
In the "Intercom No." column . . .
Find the intercom numbers for the people for whom you want customized
line assignments.
Check the appropriate boxes to the right of the intercom numbers to
indicate which lines you want to assign to each person.
You can keep the original line assignments on the voice terminals of those
people who need access to every outside line in the system.
In the "Intercom No." column . . .
Find the intercom numbers for the people who should retain the original
line assignments.
Check the appropriate boxes to the right of the intercom numbers to
indicate that every line will appear at each of those voice terminals.
When you lift the voice terminal handset to make an outside call, the system
automatically scans the outside telephone lines in the order in which they
appear on your voice terminal's line buttons until it finds a free line for your
call. For example, if your voice terminal has the original line assignments, the
system gives you Line A, if it's free, when you lift the handset. If Line A is
busy, the system tries Line B, and so on in alphabetical order until it finds a
free line for your call. Likewise, if your voice terminal has customized line
assignments, the system will search for a free line following the customized
sequence.
In most cases, you probably want a voice terminal's automatic line selection
sequence to be the same as the sequence in which the lines appear on the
voice terminal's line buttons. If, however, you want a special automatic line
selection sequence for a voice terminal, you can program that sequence when
you administer the system's outside lines.
NOTE: A special automatic line selection sequence for a voice terminal
can contain any or all of the lines that appear on the voice terminal's
line buttons.
Line Assignments Form 2-11